Come kakapo!!

Spell check.  You gotta love it.   I was chatting with my daughters via text, and my phone kept changing 'kayak' to 'kakapo'.

So I give up.  Call it whatever, but come along.


 Number 1 daughter and I went to Garnet Lake, a little jewel of a lake  in the Adirondacks.
Sorry, couldn't resist.

Just an hour drive away, so it was perfect.

Have you ever noticed how sometimes we forget to look up??

It was a lovely day, perfect to be out on the water.
Funny, how calming it is, to be out there, just paddling along.

At one end of the lake, it appears to have once been land.

There are serious stumps of old trees, everywhere.

A little island  for bugs.

The root systems were everywhere, and we were careful not to get hung up on them.

We were looking for loons, but it was hard to tell if a blip on the water was a bird, or just more wood.

My curious mind wonders how long it took for the forest to become part of the lake.

 

I wish I were one of these people who knew the names of every thing growing in the Adirondacks, but I know NOTHING.

 

 

Look how thin that girl's arms are!!   I can only wish.  And reminisce.

 

 

She took a great picture of mama loon sitting on her nest.  We stayed our distance, using the zoom lens, and we glided by quietly, so as not to disturb her.

 

 Crane Mt sits overlooking the lake.  I can't swear this is it, but it could be.
There is a trail to hike it, but as much as I would love to, I am seriously afraid of falling.
You know the deal........I already have a hole in my head.
Water seems so much safer.

We saw a total of 6 loons on the lake.

There are only a few camps on one end of the lake, the rest is state wilderness.

 

 There is something magical about loons, and about their calls.

If I could have anything I wanted, I would live on a pond or a lake with loons, and listen to them all night long.

 It was another lovely day.   I am grateful, to be here, to feel well enough to get out there and kayak,  to be able to do it with my daughter.
It's a reminder, that we don't have yesterday, or tomorrow, but wow, we do have today.
And that's an amazing thing.

 

Always say 'yes' to the present moment... Surrender to what is. Say 'yes' to life - and see how life starts suddenly to start working for you rather than against you.

Eckhart Tolle

I am saying yes.

Loudly.

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Saturday rocks.

Some of you have said you were missing the kitties.
Sydney wanted to do a photo shoot today.

As usual, she requests that you not hate her because she is beautiful.

I finished up what might be my favorite container rug so far.

And then finished a porch rug...........

 A porch rug is what you make when you just want to finish up the container.  You just grab one fabric after another, taking the chance that when they are all put together, it will work.

Then I started weaving a simple red and white rug.

I think the pattern of the fabric makes it look like chicken tracks.

 

Speaking of which..........

DH bought me a sign.

And soon, the coop will have power, and no electric cord hanging out the hole in the wall.

 

 

This door, given to me by my son in law, is perfect......the chicks get morning sun to lay in, and they can look out the window.

 I think they like their digs.

But they need a name for their house.

Chicks rule?

Suggestions?

 

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Oh My Lucky Stars!

In January of 2013, I decided to join in on the Lucky Stars BOM hosted by Elizabeth at Don't Call Me Betsy. My experience with paper piecing had not been good. I'd tried it many years ago, pretty much trying to figure it out on my own {which was probably my first mistake}. My first paper pieced project was a very complicated Poinsettia wall quilt and although I finished it, I vowed to never paper piece again.

A couple of years ago, one of our talented local quilters, Marsha Bray, taught a paper piecing class for my guild. It's not your typical method, but one that uses freezer paper with no sewing through the paper and no tearing off the paper. I loved the method and dabbled a little bit.

The Lucky Stars quilt was the perfect opportunity for me to jump in with both feet! A monthly block was just enough to keep me going and I can now say that I can paper piece without reading Marsha's instructions! If any of you are local to St Louis, she teaches it at the Quilted Fox.

This week I put the last binding stitch on my quilt. Pretty proud of this one!

Love all the variations on the star...

Can I have a favorite? It's this one...

Twelve in all...

One of my favorite AMH prints on the back!

A year long quilt is a tough one for me. My color scheme changed as the year progressed. It turned out nothing like I had originally planned! But I think it came together well!

What can I paper piece next???

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Thinking is overrated.

Today I took some time, to just sit with the chickie girls. That's what I call them.
13 little lovelies.
I find that I like them better all the time.

They are growing fast, even the little pecked one seems to be doing well.

Then I spent some time at the loom, weaving more container rugs.

I love when the fringe is tied, and they are all stacked up, ready for inventory.

I found a really neat feature on Amazon the other day.
It's called Subscribe and Save.  There are lots of products to choose from, and they will be delivered on a regular basis, on whatever schedule you want.  The more things you order, the more discount you get, and the shipping is free!
So I ordered greenies to be delivered monthly, since Roy is addicted to them.  I got a great price, much cheaper than I pay at the pet store, and now I don't have to think about it.  I also found coffee pods, that I hope I love, because they are environmentally friendly.
Regular Keurig pods are a huge problem for the environment, and there is also alot of conversation about the inadvisability of running the hot water through "plastic" and then ingesting it.
So I am trying pods from San Francisco coffee.  They have a plastic ring to hold them in the Keurig, but the water runs through paper, not plastic.
I will report back whether I like the cofffee or not.
Fingers crossed.  And it's reasonably priced, delivered monthy, one more thing not to have to think about.

Sometimes not thinking is just perfect.

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Sunday Sunday

328 posts in 2011
260 posts in 2012
156 posts in 2013

Guess that tells the tale, doesn't it?   2013 was a tough year.
So far, 2014 has been much better.  Different, but better.

I am learning to take time off, to do totally what I want to do.
Like sitting on a lawn chair in the chicken run, just to see what's what.

 

"Clicking with the chickies," as Karen pointed out.

Look at my little girl with the naked neck.  It is starting to fuzz over.....but look at how small she is  next to "Tank".

I didnt weave today.  I took the day OFF.  What a concept.

I went to visit my dear friend, and we had a lovely time.

Then I came home and made pies.

Blueberry

 

Rhubarb

And then I made some Pesto Spinach quesadillas that I found on Pinterest.
They were SO good.  And easy.  A winning combination in my book.

Tomorrow is baby day.
:)

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Summing it up

Early morning walks are the best.  Sometimes it's hard to get started, but once out there, I am always so glad I made the effort.

I'm not sure when it happened, but I changed my mind about the chicks.   I only have 13 now, as my friend came for her half.  We had 28 to start, two died, one after just a couple of days, and the other from being pecked.  There is still one little one who was pecked, but she is holding her own.

So maybe it is just because 13 are a lot more manageable, or maybe it was how they peered out the window to see if someone was coming to feed them.

But anyway, for whatever reason, they are staying put.  I even bought them some mealy worms.  Thanks, Karen.

I spent lovely quiet time at the studio this week.  Weaving.  Just being there.   Breathing.

Loving my old house.

 Next year, we will live here, and I can't wait.

In the meantime, I am busy weaving container rugs, restocking the shelves.

 

Of all the things I do here at the studio, this is one of my favorite things to do.

 

 It's like painting with fabric.
And it's just too much fun.

 

I don't do much preplanning.  

Oh, seriously, I don't do any.

I pick colors as I go.

 

I am usually happy with the results.

 

I will get back to my AVL and my second baby wrap, but right now, it's bright, colorful, container rugs.

 I make a huge mess, with fabric everywhere.   

 

But I think it's worth it.

This week has been therapeutic, spending time doing what I love.  Not worrying about the rest of it.

So I guess I won't take the bridge any time soon.

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